After Foxfire
by keephie-13
Summary: Basically... what happens to the Keeper Crew after they graduate from Foxfire! Filled with drama, romance and angst. Rated T because later chapters may include romance/kissing, as well as some coarse language.
1. Chapter 1

"You passed," Sophie exclaimed, looking down at Keefe's Level 8 report which he was holding. "I'm surprised."

Keefe flashed her a trademark smirk. "I told you I'd be able to pull through in the end," he said, chuckling at Sophie's sarcastic tone and eye roll. "What, did you actually think I'd fail? I mean, come on Foster. You don't actually think I'm that stupid?"

"No, I knew you were capable," Sophie replied. "But with the amount of times you skipped class, or 'forgot' to hand in your assignments, yeah, I thought you might fail. And you barely passed, too," she said, looking down at the report card still in her hand. "But you passed, and that's what's important, I guess."

"Tell that to my dad," Keefe muttered, looking away from Sophie for a minute. He really, _really _didn't want to go find his parents and see the looks of disappointment etched onto their faces. He saw that way too often already, and wasn't keen on seeing it more than he had to. Besides, he had just graduated from the Elite levels of Foxfire. That wasn't something everybody did, yet Keefe Sencen, prankster extraordinaire and professional goofball, had done it. They should be proud of him, even though he might not have gotten as good grades as some of his friends.

"Hey, what'd you get on your report card?" Fitz asked, wrapping an arm around Keefe as he approached Keefe and Sophie.

"Yeah, show us!" Biana said. "That means you too, Sophie!" Biana, as well as Linh, Tam and Dex had all joined the group standing in front of their Foxfire lockers, forming a rough circle that sort of obstructed the hallway. Not that any of them were paying enough attention to notice.

"56," Keefe said, showing his certificate to the group proudly. Most of the other prodigies would probably be ashamed of having such a low mark, but Keefe felt that just passing was enough of an accomplishment, and he really didn't need to have the highest grade in the class. His friends chuckled upon hearing his grade, but also congratulated him and Fitz clapped him on the back proudly.

Sophie was a bit more hesitant to show her mark, but she did feel like she had put her best effort into her schoolwork, so she was fairly confident when she said "87". Her friends congratulated her too, and she was happy to have them. "What about the rest of you?" she asked.

Fitz, of course, had earned a 96, which was probably the top mark in all of the graduating class, but everyone had been expecting that anyway. Linh did pretty well with an 86, and Tam, who had earned a 78, flashed her a secret smile, proud of how far she had come since their days in Exillium. Biana had received an 81, and Dex a 76. They were all quite happy with their grades, even though Keefe's was twenty percent lower than Dex's, who was the second lowest in their group. Nobody bothered him about it, and for a while they were just a happy group of friends, fresh out of the Elite levels. Sophie wished she could stay their forever, but she sighed when she glanced down at her watch to find that it was already growing late.

"I should probably go find Mom and Dad," she said, and the others nodded in agreement, following her down to the lobby where the parents of the graduating class were waiting and chatting amongst each other.

Sophie found Grady and Edaline in the middle of a conversation with Alden and Della, and she walked up to them, proudly showing them her report card. Their faces burst into smiles when they saw her.

"Sophie! I'm so proud of you!" Edaline exclaimed, pulling her daughter into a hug and getting a little misty-eyed. Grady joined in the hug, and although he was very proud of Sophie, he did not cry. "You've grown up so fast," Edaline said. "It really does seem like just yesterday that we adopted you, or that you finally defeated the Neverseen. You've come so far since then, and I'm so proud to have you as my daughter."

Sophie had to disagree. It felt like ages ago that she and her friends, with the help of the Black Swan, took down the terrorist group called the Neverseen and restored peace to the Lost Cities. In the years since then, she had gotten used to living a nearly normal life, going to school as a regular elven teenager and hanging out with her friends, even if she did still have way more abilities than anyone else and still didn't know who her birth parents were.

When the hug finally ended, Sophie looked up to see the rest of her friends waving at her from a corner of the crowded lobby. "I've gotta go," she said to Grady and Edaline. "Be back in a minute." She dashed off towards her friends.

"Sophie! There you are! What do you say to having a sleepover at Everglen tomorrow night?" Biana asked.

"Sure thing! I'd love to," Sophie replied. "I think my parents want me to go home soon, but what time should I come over tomorrow?"

"Maybe around 7?" Fitz suggested. "Is that good with everyone?"

The group murmured assent, so Sophie said goodbye and hurried back to her parents. "Ready to go?" Grady asked, and Sophie nodded, taking his hand and Edaline's as he pulled out his home crystal and let the light whisk them back to Havenfield. They entered the house, and since it was already late, Grady and Edaline went to their room and left Sophie to get ready for bed. She was quite tired from the excitement of the evening, so she took a quick shower and changed into her favourite unicorn onesie, then snuggled into her bed, allowing herself to sink into the soft plush sheets and heavy blankets. She was tired, but she lay in bed for a while, thinking.

She had graduated from the Elite levels. She was an _adult _now. And so were all her friends. Some of them, like Fitz and Linh, seemed so mature and hard-working, like they were ready to accept their adult life and be independent. However, she still couldn't picture Keefe living all by himself independently. He still made stupid jokes and still did the stupidest things sometimes. But, she reflected, that was a good thing and she hoped it would never change. A Keefe who didn't make jokes, and who was completely normal and serious, wouldn't be Keefe at all. She liked it when he made her laugh, even if his jokes were so cringy it wasn't funny.

Sophie realized that now she would have to figure out what to do with her life. Would she join the nobility, and maybe become an Emissary. Or maybe she would open a store or a business in Atlantis? Maybe she could work at the Sanctuary tending to the animals, or maybe even open her own animal preserve, like Grady and Edaline did. There were so many options and she didn't know what to do. But she knew she would always have a home with Grady and Edaline and she would be welcome to stay with them for as long as she wanted.

Sophie yawned, realizing how utterly exhausted she was. She clapped her hands to close the curtains so the light wouldn't wake her up in the morning, and turned on the little nightlight that sat by her bed. Then she closed her eyes, letting the happy thoughts of her family and friends lull her tired brain to sleep.

* * *

Sophie woke up very late the next morning. It was still dark in her room, thanks to the curtains, but she felt very well-rested and knew she had slept for a long time, something she hadn't done in a long time due to all her homework and her final exams. She glanced at the clock on her bedside table, which read _2:18 pm. _She had slept through breakfast. She clapped her hands to open the curtain again, cringing as the bright light entered her room and blinded her. She yawned, stretched, and finally got out of bed, heading to her closet and picking out a comfortable outfit, including black leggings and a loose lilac tunic. She threw them on, yanked a brush through her hair just enough times that it wasn't tangled anymore, and descended to the kitchen. Edaline was there, cooking something at the stove. Was that what she thought it was? Yes, it was.

"Mallowmelt!" Sophie exclaimed, still acting like she was twelve despite the fact that she was eighteen. She rushed up to Edaline, delighted to find that there was already a pan out of the oven, fresh and still warm.

"Morning, Sophie," Edaline said. It seemed she had slept well too, for the dark circles that normally sat under her eyes were lighter than usual. "Go ahead and cut yourself a slice," she added, chuckling at the way Sophie was practically drooling over the mallowmelt.

Sophie took a knife from the drawer and cut herself a rather large slice, then sat down at the kitchen table and ate. It was so good, she finished her first piece in all of three minutes, then proceeded to take a second.

"By the way, Mom," she said in between bites, "is it okay if I go to Everglen for a sleepover with the crew tonight? Fitz said to come around 7."

"Sure thing," Edaline replied. "Maybe you should go help your father though. He's outside giving the verminion a bath." Sophie groaned at those words. Bathing the verminion had to be the worst possible thing in the world. Maybe she didn't actually want an animal preserve like Havenfield. "Please, honey? Many hands make light work." When Sophie still wasn't convinced, she added: "You can't have any more mallowmelt until you go and help Grady." At that, Sophie sighed and got up, putting on a pair of boots and going to help her father.

* * *

One hour and one no-longer-dirty verminion later, Sophie dragged herself back into the house, covered in dirt, mud, and other things that she didn't even want to think about. She hated bathing the verminion, and clearly the verminion hated it too. She went to her room to get changed, putting on a fresh pair of pants and a navy tunic this time. Then she headed downstairs. She had been promised more mallowmelt, and she was getting more mallowmelt.

She spent the rest of the afternoon in the kitchen, eating _way_ too much mallowmelt and helping Edaline to do a bit of tidying up. Being Conjurer made it pretty easy, but Sophie didn't have anything better to do, and she really liked spending time with her adoptive mother. Besides, that way she could sneak little pieces of mallowmelt when Edaline wasn't looking, and that definitely made it worth it. She was surprised when she glanced at her watch and saw that it was already 6:40. "Crap, I need to get ready to go to the Vackers'," she exclaimed. "Bye Mom!" She raced back up the stairs to her room.

She pulled a duffel bag from her closet and stuffed into it a pair of pyjamas (not her unicorn onesie, some actual pyjamas), as well as her toothbrush, hairbrush, and a change of clothes for the next day. Then she spotted Ella sitting on her bed, and put her in the bag too. You never know when you might need your blue stuffed elephant. Seeing that it was almost 7, she hoisted the bag onto her shoulder then went up to their Leapmaster. "Everglen," she said, and the correct crystal spun around to in front of her. She stepped into the beam of light and let it whisk her away to the Vackers'.

* * *

**A/N: Hey y'all, I'm back with another KOTLC fanfic (that's not just a one-shot)! I'd sort of like to consider this my NaNoWriMo project, although I'm not sure if I'll reach the amount of words needed by the end of November. Ah well, I'm going to try to update this more frequently than my previous fanfic, if nothing else.**

**A few notes: yeah, I made all of them in the same level at Foxfire, just because I wanted them all to graduate at the same time. A bit of creative liberty, right? Also, I'm not sure how elven grading systems work, so I just made it the same as humans *shrug***

**So, my lovely readers, thanks for being here, and please follow, favourite and review, and stay posted for the next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

_Ding-dong. _

Sophie rang the doorbell beside the ornate door at Everglen, and heard the sound of footsteps thumping towards the door. It was opened by Fitz, although Biana, Linh, Tam, Dex, and Keefe all stood behind him. "You're late," Fitz said, glancing down at his watch to check the time. Sophie checked her own and saw that it was almost 6:10 already.

"Sorry," she said. "I was helping my mom clean up and got distracted. Also, I was eating mallowmelt."

"That explains it," joked Keefe. "Foster never seems to be able to resist the temptation to eat mallowmelt. How many pieces did you eat this time?"

"Shut up," Sophie said, her cheeks turning pink as she playfully punched Keefe in the arm. "So, what's up?"

"Not much," Dex replied. "We were just sitting and chatting while we waited for you. Come on."

Sophie followed the group to a room where there were a few couches and a table. It was like a living room, but Sophie had been to Everglen's living room before, and it was way larger and grander than this room. Sophie took a seat on one of the couches, and Biana and Linh plopped down on either side of her. Keefe and Fitz took another couch, leaving Tam and Dex to sit next to each other. "So? What were you talking about when I interrupted you?"

"We were talking about how now that we've finished school, we all need to get our Matchmaking scrolls!" Biana proclaimed happily. "Right, Sophie? It's going to be so exciting!"

"Ugh," Sophie groaned. After all these years of knowing Biana, and she still hadn't changed one bit. Well, maybe that was a lie. She had matured quite a bit and become a bit less obsessed with fashion. But nothing could completely cure Biana. She still wore fancy clothes most of the time and spent a lot of time on her appearance. Sophie had to admit, Biana was a beautiful girl and she had excellent taste in fashion. She had definitely become a bit less of a squealy pretty princess all the time. Right now, Biana wore black leggings and a pale pink tunic with a V-neck. She was dressed comfortably for the sleepover.

"What do you mean, 'ugh'?" Biana asked. "Aren't you even a bit excited to find out who's your number one? I bet you have someone special that you're hoping it'll be."

"No!" Sophie cried, trying to stop the heat from rising to her cheeks. She did actually have someone in mind, but _really_ didn't want to talk about that. "I don't want to know who's on my list. And I don't want any of these silly 'love' notions to ruin any friendships. I mean, if you want to, go ahead, but I don't."

"You're not even a tiny bit curious?" Linh asked, and she seemed to really want to know the answer.

"Well, I mean, it might be interesting to know, but we're only eighteen, and we've got an infinite number of years to live. So maybe in a few years I'd be interested to know, but not yet, okay? I don't think I'm ready to be that grown-up yet." Sophie frowned as a few eyes were rolled amongst her friends. "What, do none of you agree with me? I just don't see the point in getting our scrolls so early."

"No one agrees with you, Soph. But whatever, you don't have to get yours if you don't want to." Biana said. "Why don't we play a game or something now?"

"What game?" Dex asked.

"We could play Base Quest," Fitz suggested.

"That requires, like, physical activity, man," Keefe replied. "How about we play Truth or Dare instead?"

"I mean, that could involve physical activity too," Tam said, at the same time as Biana said "Yeah! Let's play!"

"My turn first," Keefe said, "since it was my idea to play. Fitz, truth or dare?"

"Hmm, dare," Fitz answered. Everyone knew that accepting a dare from Keefe was a bold move, as Keefe could come up with some pretty inventive and humiliating dares, but it was better that than the alternative. Or so Fitz thought.

Keefe stroked his imaginary beard, pretending to be deep in thought. "I dare you to put on one of Biana's dresses and wear it for the rest of the evening."

"Dude!" Fitz exclaimed, turning red. "I thought I was your friend!" Keefe just grinned evilly as Biana dragged her brother to her room. The rest of the group waited until Fitz and Biana returned. Fitz was wearing a hot pink dress with ruffles on the shoulders and a slit in the skirt, which came down to his mid-calves. His face was as pink as his dress, and Keefe, being an Empath, could feel the waves of embarrassment and agony coming off of him. He looked like he utterly regretted choosing dare. He refused to even sit on the same couch as Fitz, choosing instead to squeeze between Dex and Tam. Keefe looked pleased with himself, and he stretched out across the couch which he now had to himself.

"Your turn, Fitz," Keefe smirked.

"Oh," Fitz said, still embarassed. "Uhh, Dex, truth or dare?" he said, turning to the strawberry blonde boy sitting next to him.

"Truth," Dex said almost immediately. There was no _way_ he was going to accept a dare, after seeing Fitz get stuck wearing a dress for the entire evening (although, the dress did kind of suit him, in a really weird way). Dex had decided that he was not going to be stuck like that and even though the prospect of being asked prying questions didn't really appeal to him, it at least seemed better than having to wear a hot pink dress.

Fitz thought for a moment. "Have you ever slipped something into someone's elixir, when they were shopping at Slurps and Burps? I mean, aside from Stina," he added, chuckling.

"Let's see," Dex said, very thankful that he had been blessed with an easy, not embarrassing question. "Once when I was little-I must have been like five-Councillor Bronte came in and he asked my dad for some sort of serum for his hair. Of course, being the curious child I was I was just hanging around the shop watching my dad work, so my dad asked me if I would get the elixir for Councillor Bronte. I agreed, but my distaste for Bronte had already begun even at that young age, so when I went to the back of the store to get the elixir, I also grabbed a bottle of purple hair dye and mixed it in with the other elixir, which was already almost black in colour so you couldn't really tell. I smiled sweetly at Bronte when I gave him the elixir, but little did he know what was really in it.

"Of course, Councillor Bronte came storming back into the shop the next day wondering why his hair was bright purple and how he could fix it." At this point, the entire group burst out laughing. "My dad profusely apologized and gave him something to turn his hair back to normal, but man, did I get a stern talking-to once he left." Dex grinned. "Although, I'm pretty sure my dad was secretly kind of proud of me, even though I shouldn't have put the dye in his elixir."

"Well done, my boy!" Keefe exclaimed, laughing. He leaned forward to give Dex a high five. "Now that sounds like something I would do. I bet Bronte was furious."

"He was," Dex said, remembering that day. "I remember trying so hard not to laugh at an angry, purple-haired Bronte."

"Now that would be something I would kill to see," Biana chuckled.

"Maybe I'll have to do it again sometime." Dex shrugged.

"Uh, no." Sophie said. "That does sound like something Keefe would do, and I don't think you really want to be like Keefe. At least not in this situation," she added, grinning at Keefe. "Think of how much trouble you got in last time, and that was when you were younger and could still use the excuse that you didn't know that it was wrong. If you got caught for doing it again you'd be in serious trouble with the Council, and would probably face a Tribunal and some severe punishment. So don't even think about trying to pull that off again."

"That's only if you get caught," Keefe joked. Sophie shot him a death glare.

"Sheesh guys, I was just joking. I wouldn't actually ever do it again. I just wish you guys could have seen Bronte's face. Anyways, back to the game. Linh, truth or dare?"

"Truth," Linh said.

"Have you ever kissed someone?"

"No," Linh said, her creamy cheeks tinged with a bit of pink. But there was definitely someone she would like to kiss.

"Don't worry, I haven't either," Sophie said, in case Linh felt bad that she hadn't.

"Actually, me neither," added Dex.

"But you were the one who asked the question!" protested Keefe.

"So? That doesn't mean I have to have kissed someone, in order to ask someone if they've kissed someone." Dex argued.

"Fair enough," Keefe said. "On to the next question."

"Biana, truth or dare?" Linh said, looking at the chocolate-haired girl sitting next to her.

"Dare," Biana said, feeling brave. They couldn't make her wear a dress or anything, since that's what she usually did anyway, so how bad could it possibly be?

"Uhhh." Linh clearly hadn't been expecting this and didn't seem to have any ideas. Tam leaned over and whispered something in her ear. Biana tried to protest that this was cheating, but nobody agreed with her, so she just rolled her eyes. "I dare you to dye your hair neon yellow," Linh said, smirking.

"What? That's not allowed!" Biana cried.

"And why not?" Linh asked.

"Because neon yellow is such a horrible colour! _Nothing _matches with neon yellow! How am I supposed to look good like that?"

"Figure it out," Linh suggested. "It's your dare, you can't back out now."

"Ugh," Biana said, but she went to her room and found some neon yellow hair dye buried in her beauty products cupboard. She had only bought that hair dye for a school play back in Level 1, when her character was supposed to have rainbow hair, so she just bought all the colours of hair dye and did parts of her in each colour. She seriously regretted ever buying that hair dye. But she just sighed and died her entire head a hideous shade of neon yellow. It looked horrible with her pale pink tunic. However, a dare was a dare, so she emerged from her bedroom to awed gasps and laughter. "Just stop looking at me," she muttered, probably for the first time in her life. "Alright, now it's my turn. Keefe, truth or dare?"

"Truth," Keefe said.

"Who do you want to be first on your Matchmaking scroll?"

Keefe hesitated at first. Should he tell the truth? He thought about it, but then realized lying wouldn't help, it would just make his friends think he liked someone else, when he didn't, which would just way overcomplicate things. There was no way out of this. So he just took a deep breath and said the name of the person he wanted to be his number one.

* * *

**A/N: Yes, I am leaving you with that cliff hanger. Mwehehe!**

**Thank you to everyone who read the last chapter, and to Country-Fangirl for following and favouriting this story.**

**Review responses:**

**Country-Fangirl: Thank you! I don't know how I didn't notice that error, but thanks for pointing it out so I could fix it, I appreciate that.**

**Soohie Foster: Don't worry, there will be plenty of romance involved! I personally prefer Sophie x Keefe (hence my username) but there will be other ships in this story too, and I'm not entirely sure who I want to end up with who yet for all the characters. You will definitely see some drama and maybe some Fitzphie too. And pyjamas does have a y when spelled the British way, and I'm Canadian so I use the British way. But thanks :)**


	3. Chapter 3

"Sophie."

Keefe's cheeks reddened as the entire friend group turned to look at him, and for once, he was a loss of what to say. He just sat there, too afraid to look at Sophie to see what she thought. It was entirely possible that she didn't like him back. Actually, it was pretty probable that she actually liked Fitz. _I mean, why would she, or anyone, for that matter, ever like a failure like me, when they could have Fitz Vacker, also known as Mr. Golden Boy? _he thought bitterly. Not that he harboured any feelings against Fitz-after all, Fitz was his best friend-but he couldn't help but feel a bit worthless and insignificant next to him sometimes.

"Keefe, I-" Sophie also didn't seem to know what to say.

"I understand if you don't feel the same way," Keefe interrupted. The rest of the group just sat there in silence, waiting to see how this would unfold.

"I-I just need some time to think about it, okay?" Sophie was flustered. She really hadn't been expecting that. She had thought he would say Biana or something, not her, and it had taken her by surprise. "Why don't we just continue the game for now?"

"Alright," Keefe said, and the rest of the group nodded. That sounded like a plan. "Tam, truth or dare?" Tam had been fairly quiet this whole time, and although that was partially in his nature, he couldn't stay that way forever.

"Dare," Tam said.

"Bold move," Biana said, surprised. No one had thought it likely that someone would accept a dare from Keefe again, as he was the best at coming up with embarrassing and difficult dares. Fitz sitting in his hot pink dress was a prime example of that. But although Tam really didn't want to wear a hot pink gown, it was better than spilling his secrets. Because oh, he had his fair share of secrets.

"I dare you to go find Alden in the living room and tell him that you hope it's alright that you spilled pop all over the papers on his office desk." Keefe said, smirking. Tam blanched. "Don't worry, you can tell him that it was just a dare afterwards," Keefe added, knowing how scary Alden could be when his organized work area was disturbed. "And someone has to go along to film it on Sophie's iPod."

"I'll do it," Linh said, feeling a need to be there with her brother. Sophie handed her the iPod and showed her how to take a video, and Tam grudgingly stood up from the couch and headed to the living room, where they had seen Alden reading when they first arrived. He paused just outside the living room, both giving Linh time to set up the camera and giving himself time to question his life decisions. He took a deep breath, steeling himself before he walked into the living room as nonchalantly as possible.

"Uh, Alden? I hope you don't mind too much that I spilled some pop on the desk in your office. I tried to move some of the papers before they all got wet but it was already too late for most of them. I hope you're not too upset." Tam put on his best nervous-but-trying-to-play-innocent look but Alden's face quickly scrunched into confusion and anger.

"You did _what? _Do you realize how important those papers were? Those were my weekly reports to the Council from my findings as an Emissary, and contain important information that needs to be passed on. It's going to cost me so much time if I have to rewrite them all over again. I hope you realize how majorly you've screwed up. What were you even doing in my office in the first place?" The disapproval was clearly etched on Alden's face.

"Nothing, sir. It was just a dare." Tam smiled and quickly fled the scene before Alden could get mad for real at the fact that he'd been tricked. Linh stopped filming and hurried after him back to the room where the rest of the crew was gathered. "I did it," Tam announced, and the whole group stood up and crowded around Linh to see the video.

"Wow, you did such a great job! You even improvised a little bit. You'd make a great actor," Keefe commented, doubling over with laughter.

"Did you see his face when he realized the meaning of what you said?" Biana giggled. "For a few minutes he looked like he was going to skin you alive. Remind me never _ever _to touch anything in his office again."

"Seriously though, did no one else catch the fact that you called my dad 'sir'?" Fitz asked. He was laughing and at least temporarily seemed to have forgotten about the dress he was wearing.

Tam just flushed bright pink. "I was nervous," he explained. "I was so scared that he was actually going to kill me or something and I was just trying to be polite. He's probably hopping mad that he fell for that, which is why I got out of there as quickly as possible. I sure hope he doesn't come looking for me or anything."

"Don't worry, in a few minutes he'll probably be laughing to himself," Biana said. "Your turn to ask someone now."

"Sophie, truth or dare?" Tam asked.

"Truth," Sophie said.

"Do you ever wish you were just a normal elf? Like, one with blue eyes and one ability who had lived their whole life in the Lost Cities with their birth parents? I mean, I'm sure it must be hard to be the only human-born genetically modified elf who was created to save the world."

"Don't remind me," Sophie muttered. She really hadn't been expecting such a deep question, and had been trying to mentally prepare herself for something more along the lines of 'who do you want first on your scroll'. Nevertheless, this was a topic she knew a lot about considering her experiences and could talk about. "I think most people have gotten used to me by now, but I remember when I first came to the Lost Cities everyone I passed would give me weird looks, like I was some alien or monster or something. I mean, I can see their point, that they were a little shocked and surprised, but I was already pretty stressed out from the whole experience of being told my entire existence up to that point had been a lie, and it didn't help to have the new world I was just introduced to suspicious of me.

"It was also really hard to make friends with people at first, before I met you guys." She smiled, glad to have the friends she did. "Like, nobody wanted to be friends with the weird human girl with brown eyes, and lot of people were mean to me." She thought of Stina. "So yes, at times I've definitely wished I was normal, and that I could live a normal elf life without the pressure of knowing that I was created to save the world. And I'm still really curious about who my birth parents are. But I'm also really glad I'm not normal, because it's made me who I am. I don't think I would want to be anyone else. And I probably wouldn't have ever become friends with all of you guys if I had just been one of the other hundreds of elves at Foxfire. So yeah, I'm actually pretty glad I'm so weird."

"Aww," Biana said, and everybody got up from the couches to give Sophie a group hug. She felt squished, but also really glad her friends were so sweet. "We're glad you're so weird too," Biana said, and everyone laughed.

"Everyone's had a turn to be Truth-or-Dared now, right?" Fitz asked. Everyone looked at each other and nodded. "Alright, then I say it's time to take a break for a snack!" he declared.

"Oh, yeah!" Sophie said. Despite having eaten all the mallowmelt she did earlier that afternoon, the prospect of a snack still made her stomach grumble.

"I'm so hungry I could eat a hippo!" Keefe announced, making everyone laugh. Fitz led the way out of their little sitting room and into the kitchen, where he opened a cupboard and pulled out a box and a container. "These are stoutweed crackers," he announced, passing the box around. Sophie ate one, and it tasted a bit tomatoey, almost like a pizza but in cracker format. It was really good. She took another. "And, of course, chocolate ripplefluffs," he said, opening the container and setting it on the kitchen table. "There's lushberry juice in the fridge if anyone wants some."

The group spent a long time sitting around the kitchen table, eating stoutweed crackers and ripplefluffs and drinking lushberry juice. They chatted and laughed together, about what they were going to do now that they were done school. Fitz, of course, was aiming for the nobility and wanted to be an Emissary. Biana thought she might want to open a boutique in Atlantis. Dex said he would continue working at his father's store for a while, then maybe open his own store for gadgets and such. Keefe wasn't sure, and neither was Tam. Linh said she was considering becoming a mentor at Foxfire, and although the others laughed at her for wanting to go back, it really was something that would suit her kind and patient personality. A few not-so-nice comments were also made about some of the interesting mentors they had experienced, including Lady Galvin, whose cape had almost been set on fire. The group was so busy talking and recalling fond memories of their school life that they didn't even realize how late it was until the whole bag of stoutweed crackers was gone, and every last ripplefluff had been eaten. Dex yawned. "Do you think it's time we get into our pyjamas and set up where we're going to sleep?" he suggested.

"Sure, but I hope you're not suggesting we go to bed anytime soon!" Keefe said. The group exited the kitchen and headed back to the room where they had been earlier. Their backpacks and sleeping bags were in the corner, so they took out their sleeping bags and set them up on the side of the room where the couches weren't. Then they they all headed off to get changed, the girls to Biana's room and the boys to Fitz's room. Sure, they were getting ready for bed, but little did they know that the fun had just begun.

**A/N: If you're here, thanks for sticking with me for another chapter :) Thank you to BookLover3212019 for following this story!**

**Review responses:**

**Country-Fangirl: You were right the first time. Of course it's Foster :) Although, I do like Keefe x Tam and may include some of that later on.**


	4. Chapter 4

Fifteen minutes later, the group was settled back into the room with the couches. Their sleeping bags were already set up on the right side of the room, while they sat around the table once more, now in their pyjamas.

"Do you seriously have alicorn pyjamas?" Tam asked, staring at Keefe's shirt, which did indeed have a picture of a flying white alicorn with blue-tipped wings on it. The pants matched, and had a pattern of little flying alicorns.

"The better question is, why don't you have alicorn pyjamas?" Keefe retorted, shooting a glance at Tam's plain black shirt and pants. "I mean, could you get any more boring?" Apparently, Elwin had started a trend with his animal-covered clothes. Sophie had found out several years ago that Grady had T-rex pyjamas, and now Keefe had alicorn ones. She made a mental note to get some herself. Her own pyjamas that she had brought were purple with a button-up shirt, and they were slightly fuzzy and very comfortable. But then again, they didn't have animals on them.

"Why don't we play another game?" Biana suggested, looking gorgeous as always in her pale pink pyjamas with a brown housecoat over top that matched her chocolate hair (well, it would have, had she not received the dare to dye her hair neon yellow).

"Alright," Linh agreed. "Any suggestions?"

"We could play Kiss, Marry, Kill," Keefe suggested.

"Good idea," Biana said. "And since it was your brilliant idea, I'm going to give you the privilege of going first." Her smile was sugary but with a bit of an evil glint in her eye. "Now that we all know you want Sophie as your number one-" Sophie and Keefe both blushed at that being brought up again "-she's out of the question. So how about Stina, Marella, or Maruca?"

Keefe grimaced. "I mean, if I had to marry one of those three, I think I would pick Marella. I mean, I don't like Marella in that way, but she's an okay person and I think I'd be able to tolerate her. And I guess I would kiss Maruca then, because there's no _way _I would ever kiss Stina."

"Okay," Biana said. "That's fair. Now you get to ask someone."

"Hmm," Keefe said, smirking. "Fitz. Your options are: Forkle, Bronte or Fintan."

"Uh, no, no, and even more no." Fitz said. "Come on, you have to at least pick people that are close to our age."

"Yeah, says who?" Keefe retorted, smiling wickedly.

"Says me," Fitz said. "And everyone else. Right, guys?" He looked to the rest of the group for assistance, but nobody spoke up. Fitz scowled. _Fine, then, _he thought. _I'm coming for you guys next._

"Come on, Fitzy, no one agrees with you. Just answer the question."

"Whatever." Fitz rolled his eyes. "I'd kill Fintan, that's a no-brainer. Then I guess I'd kiss Bronte, and marry Forkle? If I absolutely had to?"

"I mean, that's probably what I'd do too, considering the options," Sophie said, trying to make Fitz feel a bit better. Yet some very odd images were flashing through her brain and she had to stop herself from laughing out loud: Fitz in a wedding gown, walking down the aisle toward a waiting Mr. Forkle; a romantic moment with Fitz and Bronte kissing on one of the quaint old streets in Atlantis. She quickly shoved the images out of her head.

"My turn to ask now," Fitz said, his cheeks pink. Fortunately for him he had been allowed to change out of the pink dress and into his mahogany-toned pyjamas. "Linh." He had been planning to give his target the worst options possible, like Keefe had done to him, but something about how kind and innocent Linh looked made him change his mind. "Keefe, Dex, or Wylie," he said instead, curious about what Linh would say.

Linh pondered that for a moment, her thin nose scrunched in thought. "I guess I would marry Wylie," she said after a second. "And I'd kiss Dex." Dex promptly turned a shade pinker than he had been moments ago. "No offense to you or anything, Keefe, you're just... not my type."

Keefe laughed. He didn't seem offended in the least and seemed almost relieved. "None taken," he said, chuckling.

"You and Wylie, huh?" Tam asked, playing the role of the overly protective brother. "I guess that's not as bad as some other people. If you had said Keefe, now that would be a completely different story..." Tam joked, glancing over at Keefe, whose face had an expression of mock hurt.

"Geez, it's not like we're, _together, _or anything! I was just answering the question!" Linh exclaimed, but her normally cream-coloured cheeks had shifted to a bright pink, and you didn't need to be an Empath to detect the change in mood that had just happened.

"Uh huh. Like we're supposed to believe that," muttered Biana, matchmaker extraordinaire, who had likely been rooting for the Lylie ship since day one.

"What's that?" Linh asked, turning towards Biana.

"Nothing," Biana said, stifling a giggle. "Your turn to ask someone else now. Forget I said anything."

"Whatever," Linh said. "Since you won't tell me what you said, you get the honour of going next. Have fun choosing from Sandor, Dimitar and Verdi."

"Ugh, can we at least make a rule that the options have to be elves?" Biana grimaced, but just like with Fitz, nobody came to her rescue. _Oh well, _she thought, _at least this way I won't have to actually spill any secrets about who I like. Nobody can ship me with anyone the way they did with Linh. _

"Well then, I'd marry Verdi. I mean, she's not the worst, and she's actually kinda cute," Biana said, thinking about the green feathered dinosaur. "And I mean, kissing Sandor would at least be better than kissing Dimitar." She gagged at the thought. "Even though Sandor already has a fiancee and all."

Sandor and Grizel had now been together for several years, and were planning to get married in the next few months. Sandor was no longer Sophie's bodyguard, as the threat from the Neverseen had been eliminated and it was no longer deemed necessary for her to have a bodyguard, but Sandor and Grizel now both worked as security guards at the Sanctuary, and were still friends with Sophie and her friends and family and occasionally came to visit.

"Okay, well, Tam, it's your turn now," Biana said, smiling when Tam flinched a little bit. "You get to pick from me, Marella and Sophie."

Tam blanched, all the colour draining from his already pale face. "Uh, I- I mean-" Tam stammered, stumbling over his words.

"What, are you too shy to answer the simple question?" Keefe taunted. "No one else put up such a fuss. Well, actually, Fitz did. But he answered the question. You must like one of them, since you're so hesitant to answer. Just pick from the three choices, it's not that hard."

"It's not that," Tam said, wishing he could crawl away into a hole in the ground and never emerge. He subconsciously pulled his silver bangs lower down over his eyes. "It's that, uh-" He couldn't seem to be able to say it.

"Just say it. Whatever it is, no one's going to judge you for it." Biana said, being a little bit nicer about it than Keefe.

_Just pretend like it's normal, like you were just hesitant to admit that you have a crush on one of them,_ Tam told himself. _Just say you have a crush on Marella or something, and Biana's right, nobody's going to judge you for that. Crushes happen. _But Tam couldn't bring himself to lie about something like that. Not when his actual crush was sitting on the couch opposite him. Tam took a deep breath and pulled his bangs even lower, hiding his eyes. He looked at the ground as he mumbled, "I'm gay."

Silence followed.

Of course, they all hated him now. The Matchmaking scrolls only provided lists of opposite sex potential partners, since they were designed for genetic compatibility. Therefore any homosexual pairings would automatically be deemed Bad Matches, even if they were technically legal. First Tam was a twin. He was already looked down upon his whole life, by his parents, by other kids, by everyone. Then he manifested as a Shade, and even though there was nothing wrong with the ability everyone seemed to associate shadows with suspicion. And just when he thought things couldn't get worse, he realized he was gay and would always be looked down upon even more. The gay Shade twin. Even if he ever found another gay elf who happened to love him they would always be branded a Bad Match. That's why Tam had gotten used to hiding in the shadows, why he had never let anyone ever have reason to suspect he wasn't straight. He didn't need to give people another reason to look down on him. He already had enough.

"It's okay," someone said, and Tam felt strong arms wrap around his shoulders. He looked up to see Fitz hugging him. "There's nothing wrong with that. It's just the way you are."

"Besides, you're our friend. We'll stand with you no matter what." Sophie joined the hug next, and pretty soon the rest of the group was in on it too. Tam felt quite uncomfortable being squished in the middle of all those people, but he tried to squash the feeling, because he knew his friends were being incredibly nice to him and were trying to make him feel good. And he had to admit, it was working a little. Their reaction had gone a lot better than Tam had pictured when he had blurted out those two words in the spur of the moment.

It seemed like eternity before the group hug finally broke apart and everyone returned to their seats on the couches. There was a brief quiet before Biana announced, "If it makes you feel any better, I'm bisexual."

And the group went silent again.

It came as a surprise to most of them, since Biana had always been fairly outwards about trying to pursue various guys. But maybe that was part of her way of hiding the fact that she also liked girls. Or maybe she just hadn't realized what she was feeling was attraction.

"Anyone else feel like coming out tonight?" Keefe asked, grinning.

"Actually, I'm also bi," Dex said, his dimpled cheeks flushing a bit.

"Well then," Linh said.

For a while no one knew what to say. It was fairly understandable though, as three out of the seven friends present had just come out all in a row. After a while, Keefe decided to break the silence. "Why don't we keep going with the KMK? I understand it was Biana's turn to give Tam three options... though she may have to choose different options now that we know..." Keefe winked.

"Oh boy," Tam said, rolling his eyes. But he couldn't stay grumpy for too long. He was so glad that his friends were willing to accept him for who he was.

**A/N: Sorry about not updating for a while. To be fair though, it's partially not my fault, as I had written a good chunk of the chapter when my computer crashed before I could save the document :( ****I'm really going to try to be better about updating. I did fine for the first three chapters so I'm going to try to keep that up.**

**By the way, I haven't read Legacy yet, so there will be no spoilers in this story until I read it! Don't worry, I will put a notice at the start of the chapter when I have read it and am putting things that may spoil parts. :)**

**Review responses:  
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**Country-Fangirl: Yes! *pumps fist as well***

**Soohie Foster: Thank you so much! Although I haven't decided which ships I want to prevail, I'll definitely try to include at least bits with Sokeefe and Fitzphie c:**


	5. Chapter 5

"Well then..." Biana thought. "Fitz, Dex, or Keefe." She smiled.

Tam thought for a minute. "I guess I would marry Fitz and kiss Keefe, which leaves Dex to kill. No offense or anything, Dex."

"None taken," Dex replied. Although he may be bi, Tam really wasn't his type. Too... shady. Not that he had anyone particular in mind or anything, but he felt like he would prefer somebody who was a little more outwards with their emotions.

"Don't worry, just to make up for it I'll give you the honours of going next. Hmm, how about Fitz, Biana, or Alvar? The Vacker children." Tam said, a hint of a smirk on his face as Dex blanched.

"Well, kill Alvar, duh." Dex started off. "I mean, that one was way too easy. As for the others? I think I'd kiss Biana and marry Fitz? Actually, maybe I'd kiss Fitz and marry Biana. Wait, no. Oh wait, yeah. I don't even know anymore, okay?" Dex seemed flustered.

"That's totally fine," Sophie said, smiling towards her best friend.

"Do we need to have a competition to find out who's the better kisser, so you can decide?" Biana suggested.

"I don't think that'll be necessary," Dex said, his face completely pink by now. Inwardly, he just wanted to crawl into a hole and never emerge. Why hadn't he been able to choose? Why hadn't he just picked one of them when he realized he was being indecisive? Although, he wasn't entirely opposed to the idea of kissing the Vacker siblings... just not now, not in front of everyone.

"Are you sure about that?" Biana asked, a mischievous glint in her eye. She seemed just a little bit inclined to the idea of kissing Dex, though maybe that was just the way she was, always hunting for drama and excitement.

It was settled when Keefe began chanting "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" and was quickly joined by Tam, Linh, and Sophie. Sophie didn't want to pressure her friends into something they didn't want to do but she could tell by their faces that neither of them were really strongly against the idea. _Besides, _she thought, _a girl is allowed to have a little fun with her friends sometimes, right? I mean, we're basically adults now. We're bound to run into drama and excitement at some point anyway, so why not enjoy it?_

"Guess that means we're kissing," Biana said, before walking over to Dex and pressing her lips against his. His lips were just the tiniest bit rough and maybe a little dry, but in a sort of attractive way, if that made any sense. Biana didn't linger too long, and the kiss only lasted a few seconds, but she had to admit she did enjoy it. Dex was flushed bright red but he seemed to have enjoyed it too.

"Your turn next, Fitz," Biana said, punching her brother in the arm and grinning. Fitz turned a shade redder than usual.

"Uh, okay," he said, a bit unsure.

"Wait, but Fitz is straight, right?" Keefe asked.

"I think so." Fitz replied. "I don't know. I've never kissed a boy before, or ever even thought of it." He was kind of curious, if he was honest with himself.

"Well then, it's the perfect time to try it!" Keefe said. When Fitz hesitated a bit, he added: "Come on man, the worst that could happen is you kiss and don't feel any sort of connection and confirm that you're straight. Best to find out now in a safe environment."

Fitz couldn't argue with that logic. So he stood up, his legs shaking just a little, and walked over to Dex as Biana had done. He leaned down and bumped noses with the other boy before his mouth reached Dex's. The kiss was short, and a little awkward, yet Fitz was feeling so many things at once. It felt wrong in so many ways that he couldn't even begin to imagine, and went against everything he had been taught to uphold as a Vacker. Yet there was something about it that he almost liked, about the rough texture of Dex's lips against his own and the close proximity of their faces. Although that could have just been his imagination. He pulled away from the kiss before it lasted too long and got even more awkward. "How was that?" Keefe asked.

"Uh, okay," Fitz replied, not really sure what to say, his mind still a mess of conflicting emotions.

"So not terrible," Keefe concluded. "And how about you, Mr. Dex? Which Vacker is the better kisser? Gosh, that sounds like it should be some sort of human reality TV show, doesn't it?"

Dex turned even pinker, if that was even possible at this point. "Both were okay," he said. "Though I think Fitz was better." Sophie couldn't help but notice the slightly smug look that came across Fitz's face at that. "I mean, you were great too, Biana. I guess it's just personal preference."

"Yeah, I get it," Biana said. "I enjoyed it too, but I didn't really feel any sort of spark or anything like you're supposed to feel with your true love. I dunno if that's actually how it works in real life. I guess we're supposed to figure it out now that we're adults." Biana couldn't help but feel a little bit disappointed that Dex had preferred her brother's kiss to hers, but she knew she would forget about it soon enough. It was true, she had had a crush on Dex in the past, and she had always been a bit curious as to how he would kiss, but she was over it now. She was satisfied with the kiss though and was glad she got that off of her mind.

"Anyways. We keep getting distracted from the Kiss, Marry, Kill game," Linh interjected. "Dex, it's now your turn to ask someone."

"Thank goodness. The attention will be on someone other than me," Dex said. He shot a glance at Tam, who returned with an understanding look. Keefe laughed. "Sophie, you haven't had a turn yet. You can't hide in the corner forever, no matter what you'd like to think." Sophie tried to make herself seem a bit smaller, but unsuccessfully. "Kiss, Marry, Kill with Tam, Keefe or Fitz."

_Ugh. _Sophie had actually kind of been hoping for some funnier choices, like people that were way older than her, or that weren't even elves. That way at least she wouldn't have to reveal any of her true feelings. But no. She ended up with three boys her age, all of whom were in the room with her, and all of whom were quite handsome, she had to admit. But there was one easy choice.

"Sorry Tam, but I'd kill you. Like everyone else has said, no offense, but you're just not my type. Also, you're gay."

"Don't worry," Tam said. "I'm gay, like you stated, so I'm actually kind of glad you don't like me in that way, since I don't like you either. So what's the verdict on the other two?"

"Um," Sophie said. This truly was a hard decision for her. She knew that whichever way she picked, someone would end up upset. There was no way to avoid it. This was precisely the reason Sophie typically avoid these sorts of teenage party games. All this drama and romance, while exciting for someone like Biana, was actually stressful for her, as she didn't particularly like sharing her true feelings. She knew Tam and maybe even Dex would agree, but only for when the matter was about themselves. Both of them were as eager as anyone else to hear what she would say. Ugh, she just hated being the centre of attention.

"I guess, uh, if I had to pick I would marry Fitz and kiss Keefe." She stared at her lap for a few seconds, red-cheeked, before chancing a peek at Fitz and Keefe's faces and seeing something a bit like relief on Fitz's face, and sorrow on Keefe's. "Sorry Keefe, but I don't think I'd be able to put up with your pranks for the rest of eternity," she joked, hoping to lighten the mood. Everyone laughed, including Keefe, but the furrow on his brow seemed to deepen just a hair. "Speaking of which, Keefe, you've still never told me what the Great Gulon Incident was all about, and it's been years since I first asked you. _Years, _Keefe."

"I guess you do deserve to hear what it was all about, then," Keefe answered. "It was quite the incident. The peak of my pranking career so far, and an amazing accomplishment if I may say so myself." Keefe cleared his throat, glad for the change of topic. "So this all happened back when Alina was still the principal of Foxfire." Sophie thought of her least favourite Councillor, and also the Beguiler who had interrupted Alden's wedding to Della to try and convince him to marry her instead. Sophie shuddered with disgust.

"So one day she caught me skipping classes. Yes, I skipped classes even from such a young age. Stop frowning at me, Foster. I managed to pass the Elite levels, even with all the times I ditched."

"Barely," Sophie retorted, rolling her eyes.

"Still passed," Keefe said. "Anyway, Alina caught me skipping, and demanded that I come to her office that instant for a severe lecture about the importance of taking my classes seriously. She made me sit in the horribly uncomfortable chair in her horrible mirror-filled office, while she ranted at me for like an hour about why I shouldn't be skipping any classes." Keefe made a face. "She even called my dad and told him about how many times I'd been caught skipping and how my grades were suffering from it. I really didn't think she needed to make such a big deal out of it."

"Uh, going to your classes is important," Linh pointed out. "Even if you find them boring, their purpose is to prepare you for your adult life. You shouldn't have been skipping."

"Well, look at me now. I skipped dozens of times and I'm perfectly fine. Anyway, I was so angry with Alina because of that that I swore I would get revenge on her, in whatever way I could. Dun dun _dunnnn_!"

Silence followed. Everyone expected Keefe to keep talking.

"That's it?" Biana said disappointedly.

"You're not going to tell us the rest?" Dex asked.

"Come on, Keefe. That doesn't count as telling the story!" Sophie pouted.

"Aw, you're cute when you pout, Foster," Keefe commented. "But alas, the rest of the story will have to wait for another time. You're always supposed to leave your audience wanting more.' Keefe winked and grinned. Ugh, that boy was just so infuriating sometimes.

**A/N: No, I'm not actually going to tell you what happened in the Great Gulon Incident. I really hope Shannon Messenger eventually tells us though. I'm actually kind of curious about that.**

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and please continue to read, review, follow and favourite! 3**

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**Country-Fangirl: Thanks, and thanks for your continued dedication to this story! And thanks for putting up with my erratic writing XD**


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